


Rulebreaker

by porcupinegoldstein



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Ambush, Angst, Arranged Marriage, Best Friends, Best Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fever, Fire, Forbidden Love, Horseriding, Kids, Kisses, Princess AU, Princess Tina, Princess and the Stable Boy, Stable Boy Newt, Stable boy - Freeform, angsty kisses, bandits, prince - Freeform, princes and princesses, royal au, sick
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-02-04 21:52:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12780291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/porcupinegoldstein/pseuds/porcupinegoldstein
Summary: Tina is the eldest Princess and heir to the throne in the kingdom run by the Goldstein's. When she's four years old her Nanny brings in her son Newt, so that they can play together and they hit it off immediately. As they grow up and mature, they begin to spend less and less time together. Tina gets busy with lessons and her duties within her family and Newt begins work for the palace by tending the horses.Tina comes out to see Newt most days though, just to talk and to sometimes go out riding with him when she's dismissed her guards. She grows fond of him, and dreads the day when her parents decide to marry her off to a rich Prince that she's never met before.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Super excited to write this AU! I need to work out what I want to put into the middle of it because I need to work on that because I do have the ending for this already in mind

The Goldstein’s were one of the most powerful royal families to live. They were a kind and fair family, and the kingdom loved them. The King and Queen had two daughters, Porpentina (Tina for short), the eldest and Queenie the youngest. They loved their daughters a lot but, couldn’t always look after them so they had hired a nanny to first look after Tina and then when Queenie had been born, for her as well.

The first day that Queenie was to be looked after by the nanny, Tina was sat in the nursery by her baby sister’s crib and just watched her for a couple of seconds before the door opened.

The four-year-old whipped her head around and broke into a grin when she saw her familiar nanny.

“Nanny Julie!” Tina cheered and skipped over towards her. “I got a baby sister! She’s small and she’s sleeping right now. I’m a big sister!” she spoke proudly before she noticed, the young boy standing behind her nanny’s legs.

“Hello Tina,” she answered and let out a small laugh. “I know all about your little sister, that’s why I’ve brought someone for you to meet,” she answered and ushered the boy out from behind her. He just stood, with his ginger curls in a mess and big green eyes looking towards Tina.

“Hi!” Tina greeted and smiled at him after a little bit of confusion as to why there was a boy in her nursery.

“Say hello Newton,” Julie urged him and gave him a reassuring smile.

“Hello,” he answered softly and looked at his feet.

“Tina, this is my son. He’s your age and I thought that it would be nice for you two to meet. So, that you can have someone your age to play with,” Julie explained. “He likes to be called Newt. Not too fond of his full name,” she ruffled her son’s hair who just smiled sheepishly.

“Hi Newt! I’m Tina! Do you wanna play a game?” she asked him with a grin taking over her face.

Newt looked towards his mother once who nodded, before he returned his gaze to Tina once again.

“Yeah. I can play a game,” he answered with a smile spreading across his features as Tina just took his hand and dragged him to one of the corners of the nursery where a big chest sat in the corner.

She opened it up and brought out a lot of plush toys and looked at Newt again with a curious look on her face. She hadn’t ever met anyone else that was her age before, so she was more interested in Newt than actually playing.

“I’m gonna have the giraffe. What one do you want?” she asked him, picking up the giraffe that was almost as big as she was.

“The platypus,” Newt answered and took it, eyes on the plushie rather than on Tina. He was the most social of children but, his mother had hoped that he would get on with Tina and be able to build up his social skills a little.

“How old are you? I’m four!” Tina announced as she sat down with the giraffe in her hands, looking up towards Newt expectant for him to answer her question as he just sat opposite, holding onto the platypus for dear life.

“I’m four as well,” Newt answered her. “Are all these toys yours? I don’t have this many toys,” he looked around and then back towards Tina again.

Tina looked at him for a moment like he had just declared one of the worst things in the world. She let her gaze drop towards the platypus for a moment and then looked at Newt again, a kind smile taking over her face.

“You can take the platypus. As a present,” she told him.

“Like to keep?” he asked, looking towards the plushie in his hands with a curious look on his face, trying to work out if he was being tricked or not.

“Yeah. If you don’t have lots of toys then you could have that one,” she offered and just grinned at him. “Let’s play!”

The pair played for hours, until Julie’s shift had ended, and Tina was to go and eat. Before Julie and Newt left, Tina gave Newt a hug and smiled at him brightly.

“Will you come again? I really liked playing with you today!” she told him and then looked up towards Julie. “Can he come back?”

“Of course, Tina. I’m glad to see that you two got so close, and it’s very nice of you to have given him the toy as well.”

Tina just grinned and turned when the opposite door opened, and her parents came into the room. Julie gave a curtsey to them both and they handed over the day’s pay, watching her and Newt leave before turning their attention towards their eldest daughter.

“Come Porpentina, dinner time and then you’ll have your bath and to bed with you,” Queen Joyce spoke and took her daughters hand, leading her out of the room as Tina just babbled about the day that she had.

 

Julie got Newt back home, and started cooking straight away when her other son, Theseus came running out of one of the rooms.

“Ma! You’re home!” the seven-year-old grinned at his mother and came right over to where she was cooking. “How come Newt got to go up to the palace today? I’ve been here all day and Pa hasn’t been home,” he complained and just frowned slightly.

“I took Newt to meet the Princess. They’re the same age and I thought that it would be a nice idea for them to play together,” Julie explained. “Your father has been at work Theseus.”

Newt had sat by the unlit fire, platypus toy still held close to him as he looked down at it, glad to have actually been given some sort of present. The only presents he really had in the past were little things from his mother. Not that he minded. Newt was grateful for everything that he got but, the platypus was special, and went with him all around the house until he was put to bed, platypus safely tucked under his arm.

 

Tina was still considered young enough for it to be acceptable for her mother to tuck her in at night. Once she had been helped into her pyjamas, Tina curled up in her bed and looked towards her mother with a grin on her face.

“Mama, I would very much like to play with Newt again tomorrow. Can we bring some of the other games into the nursery? So, that I can show him them and then he can be my friend?” she asked innocently.

“Of course, my dear,” Joyce answered and just smiled at her daughter. She did find Tina’s smile and spirit infectious and was overjoyed to see her smile. It was all that she really wanted. For both of her daughters to be happy.

“Thank you, mama,” Tina smiled and curled up into a ball as she looked towards the window. “I can’t wait to see my friend tomorrow,” she whispered and soon fell asleep. Her mother stood, kissed Tina on the forehead and left the room.

 

Newt and Tina did get to spend almost every day together. There were some days where one of them may have fallen ill and couldn’t get to the nursery but, most days were spent together. They played games, shared secrets and when Queenie was old enough, she joined in on their games as well.

Until Tina turned thirteen. She was taken out of the nursery that she had grown in and cherished. Queenie remained but, Newt had been taken away too, now too old to be involved in such games. Instead Newt helped out around the castle grounds and Tina was taken away for lessons.

They sometimes passed each other and shared a quick hello and a smile but, most of their time was involved in either working or learning. When Tina had her breaks, she would sneak out and go to find Newt so that she could still talk to him while he worked before she left to go back and keep learning.

There was one afternoon, Tina had been given some time to relax and take a break. She went down to the gardens where Newt and his brother were working on some weeds. They both bowed when she approached, and she just shook her head slightly.

Theseus had been working in the palace for the past three years, tending the garden and sometimes catching the eye of Queenie’s handmaiden Rosie. Tina often caught them glancing towards each other if she saw them both.

“Good Afternoon My Lady,” Theseus gave her a bright smile. “What brings you out into the garden on this fine day?” he asked her, being as polite as he could.

“I actually came to speak to Newt. I’m on a break from lessons so I wanted to come and talk to him,” she explained to the elder Scamander before turning to face Newt, a kind smile painted on her face as she just watched him.

“What can I do for you, Your Highness?” Newt asked with a smile on his face. He only ever talked to Tina like that when others were around. Most of the time, she waved him off and told him to just call her Tina.

“I just came to see how you were. It would be strange if I didn’t come to see you during the day,” she pointed out with a little shrug. “Oh! And I’ve almost convinced Mother and Father to let me have a cat.”

“Excellent! I’ll tell you if any cats are having kittens in the village soon. I’m sure that whoever it is would love to let you have their kitten. Of course, they have to stay with the mother for a few weeks but, I’ll be sure to tell you if any news comes up,” he assured her.

“That sounds wonderful! Thank you, Newt,” she grinned at him and stayed talking to him and Theseus for a while longer before she was called back in for her afternoon lessons.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she waved at the both and got bows in return before she hurried back up to the palace to start her lessons again.

Most days went like that until Tina hit sixteen. She was mostly waited on hand and foot those days, people dressing her and escorting her to different places. On her sixteenth birthday, she had been taken down towards the stables.

She hadn’t seen Newt for months, and she missed him like crazy. He had turned sixteen before her and ever since then, she hadn’t seen him around at all. She had feared that he had been fired and sent away from the palace.

Until she set foot in the stables and Newt stood there, bowing to her and offering her a smile. He was dressed differently, and he just couldn’t help but, watch her for a couple of seconds as she took him in.

“Newt! What are you doing here? It’s been so long since I saw you!” she exclaimed and felt a smile tug at her lips.

“When I turned sixteen, the King and Queen offered me a job as stable hand. They knew how well I communicated with animals and as well as getting to look after the horses, I stay inside the palace grounds. So, I’ll be here at all times,” he explained softly. “Now, my Lady. Let me show you to your horse.”

He led her to one of the doors and inside was a young, dapple grey mare who nuzzled Newt gently when he approached her.

“My Lady, this is Henley. She was bred specifically for you. You’ll be taking riding lessons with me, and once I deem that you passed then if you would like to go riding for the day, you can send a message to me and I will get her ready for you.”

Tina grinned and moved closer towards the mare, reaching out to stroke her nose gently and just looked to Newt with a grin on her face.

“She’s beautiful. This is amazing Newt. Thank you. When do our lessons start?” she asked him gently and just kept her eyes fixed on him.

“Tomorrow at Nine in the morning My Lady. I’ll see you then, and I’ll have Henley here waiting for you to earn that trust for the first time. Until then, have a wonderful day.”

Tina nodded once and bid farewell to Newt as she headed back to her daily routine, a slight skip in her step as she awaited the next day when she would get to see her friend, and spend more than half an hour with him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina turns eighteen and Newt takes her out to somewhere that she has never been before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, I'm back to this! Hope that you all enjoy this, I'm doing a few little chapters here and there so far before I get into any kind of big plot things

Two years had passed since Tina’s first riding lesson with Newt. She took to it all amazingly, and Newt had commented on the fact that she was a natural when it came to horses. He had taught her how to ride, how to handle the horses and everything else. He had his own horse, Dougal, and he did enjoy being able to teach her everything that he knew. He liked having some time to spend with her.

Now eighteen and much more in the public limelight, Tina was supposed to be an elegant princess. Someone who would make their country proud.

She was fast asleep, sprawled out and hair everywhere. She hadn’t been snoring but, she wasn’t the most elegant person in the world when she was asleep. Especially when it was getting closer and closer to midday.

Her handmaiden, came into the bedroom, drawing back the curtains and earning a groan from Tina who was curled up in the bed still, hugging the pillow closer to her. She didn’t want to get up really. She just wanted to stay in bed all day.

“It’s almost midday Ma’am. You really need to wake up and get out of the bedroom. It’s not exactly healthy to stay in bed all day,” she told Tina and came over, pulling the duvet off of the sleeping Princess who made even more noises of protest.

“Is it really necessary to take away my warmth?” Tina groaned and lifted her head to look up towards her handmaiden.

“You have a free day to do what you please. I just need to get you dressed,” she answered and managed to get Tina out of the bed and behind her screen, getting into a dress. With no corset. Tina had rejected the idea of wearing one when she was just going to be walking around the palace.

Tina brushed down the skirt of her dress and looked around the room once.

“Now come on, your parents have made sure to save you a plate for breakfast since you slept through everything else. What do you wish to do after your breakfast Ma’am?” the handmaiden asked Tina softly.

“I was thinking of going for a horse ride. There’s no need to get one of the guards to go with me. I’ll go with the stable hand,” Tina answered and waved off the handmaiden. “I’ll go down and get my breakfast now. Thank you.”

 

She left her room, going down into the kitchens rather than into the dining room. The staff had gotten quite used to Tina bending rules sometimes, and just doing what she wanted. She never broke the big rules, but she liked to treat the staff and everyone else as equals. She had even taken Queenie in a couple of times to get a bit friendlier with some of the staff.

She greeted everyone with a bright smile before she stood behind a table and looked towards one of the chefs that they had there.

“Hello Jacob, I was told that my parents put back a plate of breakfast for me since I wasn’t here for breakfast when it was first served,” she told him.

“Of course,” Jacob chuckled. “I could have had it sent up to you My Lady. You didn’t need to come all the way down here,” he turned and brought over a platter of sausages, bacon, fried egg, beans and, some toast.

“Thank you,” she smiled and started to tuck in to her food quite happily. “I like to eat down here if I can. It’d be lonely up there in the dining room all alone since nobody else would be in there,” she pointed out.

“Well, I ain’t stopping you. You’ve always been kind, and so has your sister. Your family has always been good to folks like me. It’s real appreciated you know,” he told her, and Tina just smiled softly.

“We like to make sure that the people who work in the palace are happy. If you’re not happy then you would most likely not work as well. You do deserve to be happy though. All of you do,” she assured him and finished her breakfast.

Sitting back for a couple of seconds, she thought to herself and then looked at Jacob again.

“You think you could get me some food in a bag to take out with me? I’m going out riding and I just wanted to have some food in case I get hungry,” she told him softly.

“Of course, My Lady,” Jacob chuckled and turned, grabbing a bag from the side and putting in some cakes, fruits and other little snacks that he hoped Tina would appreciate. He handed the bag over with a smile on his face and just winked slightly, seeing as Tina wouldn’t have been allowed so much food normally.

“Thank you, Jacob,” she smiled at him and left the kitchens, bag clutched in her hands as she made her way down towards the stables. Down towards the horses, and down towards Newt.

She walked straight into the stables without knocking, bag still in her hand as she looked around at the horses who all seemed interested in the food that she was carrying, more so than Tina herself.

“Newt?” she called out and tilted her head as he stepped out from one of the horse boxes, and just smiled when he saw the Princess.

“Good Afternoon My Lady,” he bowed, and Tina just rolled her eyes slightly. She knew that he was supposed to say and do everything that treated her like royalty but, she much preferred to just be called Tina and for them to act as though they were both ordinary human beings. The bowing just got boring, and she didn’t really like being royal. She would have rather been born into a normal family in the village.

“Newt, how many times do I have to tell you that when we’re alone, you may call me Tina?” she told him and walked over, giving him a quick hug. She did consider him a friend after all. Best friends maybe.

“At least once more,” he winked and just crossed his arms over his chest when they broke the hug, looking at her for a couple of seconds. “Now, what can I do for you? You seem to be alone. Got rid of your guards, did you?” he laughed, knowing that Tina never really liked going anywhere with armed men, following her every move.

“I wanted to go for a ride. Somewhere that I can go fast. If I was with guards then I wouldn’t be able to go so fast,” she pointed out and walked over to Henley, stroking her nose gently before feeding her an apple from the bag.

“So, you wanted me to come with you?” he chuckled and nodded slowly. “Alright, I’ll get your horse ready, and I’ll get one ready for me as well. So, then I can accompany you, since you do need an escort at all times,” he pointed out.

“I was hoping that you would come with me,” she grinned as she watched him get both of the horses ready and then stood by Henley.

“Do you need help up?” he asked her, to which she nodded.

He helped her up, and she sat securely in the saddle while she waited for Newt to get up on Dougal. He was quick to do it and just looked over to her with a smile, leading the way out of the stables.

“Promise not to gallop off and leave me,” he told her and started walking his horse out of the palace grounds, with Tina right next to him on her own horse.

“I would never do such a thing,” she laughed and stroked Henley’s neck as they went on, away from the forest and down a little path that Tina had never been down before. She was just following where Newt was leading her, with no second thought to it at all.

“You did it before. You’re lucky that Dougal here is faster than Henley. I caught up to you in no time,” he laughed and just rolled his eyes slightly.

Tina had been known to try and escape whenever she could, but she didn’t want to get too far away from Newt. She knew that it was best to just stay with him and go along together, she didn’t want to do anything that meant he would start worrying about her.

“We’re not that far away from where I wanted to take you. Then you can do run as fast as you like on Henley. As long as you stay in my eyeline,” he laughed and led her towards a more open area of grass, with a lake beside them.

“This is beautiful Newt! How come you’ve never taken me to this place before?” she looked towards him with a slight eyebrow raise.

“Normally you have a set path that you have to take. You’re eighteen now though, so you can go a little further, and to places that you’ve never been before,” he explained with a one shoulder shrug. “Now, go on. Gallop to your hearts content,” he grinned at her.

She nodded once and just let Henley gallop a few laps around the grass area, before she came to a stop and just let the horse graze, coming over towards Newt.

“We can stay here for a little while if you like,” he told her and took a blanket from one of the saddles pouches, laying it on the floor for them both.

She went to get her bag of food before joining him and looking out towards the lake in front of them, a smile on her face as she just let out a small hum and dug through the bag to take out some of the pastries.

“I asked Jacob to give me some food to take with us,” she told him and offered a cake to Newt, which he took and started to eat.

“Do you have the entire staff wrapped around your finger?” he chuckled and took a cake from her, biting into it. “Jacob does make the best cakes though. I have heard that your sister quite enjoys them as well.”

Tina nodded and just shuffled a little closer towards Newt.

“She does. Jacob is one of the kitchen staff that she’s closer with. He’s always asking her to try his new products,” she smiled to herself. “That’s why sometimes I wish that me and her weren’t royalty. Then she would be able to marry him if she wanted,” she pointed out with a little sigh. “Though, my parents haven’t actually said anything to me about being promised to some prince that I’ve never met,” she shrugged a little.

“I’m sure that your parents only want the best for you,” he nodded. “They’d probably let you get to know whatever Prince that they want you to meet. Your parents are kind, and they seem to be in love,” he pointed out. “So, they must have actually been in love beforehand, so their wedding was genuine.”

Tina nodded in response and smiled. She always did like the fact that her parents were so in love, and it had been an arranged marriage. They never seemed fake to her. They were always so genuine. Always so in love, and they always loved Tina and Queenie as well. That much she could tell.

“Thanks Newt. I’m hoping that since they haven’t mentioned anything, that they don’t actually have any plans for that. There are no Kingdoms in trouble after all,” she smiled and finished the cake that she had in her hand.

He nodded and just sat back, watching the lake as the horses both grazed and nibbled at the grass at their hooves. They let out a couple of whinnies every now and then, almost as if they were speaking to each other, and warning each other off of the grass.

 

They stayed by the lake for a few hours before it was nearing dinnertime, and Newt thought it best to get Tina back to the palace. He knew that there would be a full investigation if she was away from the palace when she was supposed to be eating.

They rode back together, Tina leaving Newt in the stables as she went back up towards the stables and started to eat, hoping that she could go back towards the lake and the grass one day. Only if it was with Newt though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, and I hope that you're all enjoying this!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina and Newt go out into the forest together, and run into some trouble

Tina went out more and more with Newt. She loved spending her time with him, and he was always happy to take her out to their lake or go for a stroll through the forest. The forest wasn’t the safest of places, but it was better than nothing in Tina’s opinion, and he couldn’t find the ability to be able to say no to her. She never used that to get everything that she wanted. She respected Newt and she wouldn’t ever use him to get things. Only to walk in the forest with the horses but, they’d never run into any sort of danger.

Her parents didn’t mind her going out to see Newt so much. They were happy that she was out all of the time and getting some fresh air. They loved to see her so happy, and it wasn’t as if she had that many royal duties to be performed. If there was a ball, or a royal dinner then they would expect her to be there, but on most days, she was free to do as she pleased. If she wasn’t seeing Newt, she was in the library and reading every book that she could find.

When she had been younger, she had been forced to read things that she had no interest in. Tina liked stories of heroes, and fantasy. That’s what she liked to read more than anything else. She read the occasional romance, but she mostly liked the action of it all. She liked the daring swordfights, the magical creatures that sometimes featured, and the quests to find something or to save someone. Those were her favourites and she wasn’t going to let anything else get in the way of her reading those sorts of books.

On that day though, she thought that it was too sunny and too bright to be cooped up inside. She was eager to just get outside and go riding somewhere. She hoped that since the sun was out, they could be out there for longer.

With a skip in her step, and some food in her bag, she ran down towards the stables and pushed open the door with a smile towards Newt when she saw him in there, feeding one of the horses an apple.

“Hey Newt,” she grinned at him and immediately went towards Henley, stroking the mares nose with a smile on her face, as the horse returned Tina’s affection by nuzzling the Princess’ hair. She made a little huff, knowing that whenever Tina was around that meant she could go out and that she could have some time to stretch her legs.

“Afternoon Tina. You want to go out then? Is that why you’re here?” Newt asked her with a chuckle and started getting both horses ready before, Tina could even answer his question. He knew her well enough now, to know that she did love to come down and go out riding anywhere. He enjoyed her company though. She was always fun to be around.

“Of course,” she nodded and mounted Henley as soon as the mare was all prepared and ready.

Newt just smiled, and with Dougal led the way out of the stables and then looked over his shoulder back towards Tina.

“Where do you want to go today?” he asked her softly, and just walked to the general area of where they were meant to be going.

“I thought that we could go to the forest,” Tina suggested with a little shrug. “It’ll be cool in there, and then we can just have a little stroll. Maybe we could look for some animals as well, or some wild flowers? I’d like to bring some back for Ma and Pa.”

“Forest, it is,” Newt nodded and headed towards the forest with Tina, closely following until she was caught up enough to be walking with Henley beside him. Easier to talk to him in that way, and she could make sure that if there was anything dangerous that they would both see it at the same time.

They both entered into the forest, the trees shielding them from burning them but, the sun coming in through little gaps between the leaves so that they were still warm, but not too hot that they would be uncomfortable.

 

After they had walked deeper into the forest, Newt stopped after a while and frowned slightly. Tina came to a halt next to him, and looked towards him, not quite understanding why he had stopped so suddenly and if there was something going on.

A small distressed kind of squeaking was coming from in the trees, and Newt slid off of Dougal, heading towards the gap where the sounds were coming from. Tina, curious as ever, followed him on foot, leaving the two horses together, trusting them enough to stay put.

“Newt? What is it?” Tina asked softly and followed him into the trees further as he knelt down and let out a small sigh.

“Oh, you poor thing,” Newt whispered as he had knelt down next to a rabbit that had been caught in a trap and had been trying to get away. The animal had stilled, the noises not sounding anymore as it accepted its fate.

“That’s awful…” Tina whispered and reached out her hand to rest on Newt’s shoulder. She hated to see an animal suffering and knew that it would be even worse for Newt. He loved animals and he hated seeing them in pain up close. She knew that, and she just wished that she could do more to comfort him.

She had opened her mouth to speak, when she felt a pair of hands take hold of her from behind and pull her to a leather clad chest, a gloved hand coming over her mouth.

“Well, look at what we have here lads! A pretty little thing, she’d be quite useful back with us don’t you think?” the man who had hold of Tina spoke, and chuckled as two other men laughed as well and looked towards Tina.

“Get off of her! Leave her alone!” Newt turned and stepped towards the bandits, trying his best to look like he could fight them off, when in reality, he was a lot smaller than all three of them, and to Tina’s knowledge, he had no knowledge in fights.

“Stay out of this boy!” the main bandit sneered at Newt, and brought out a knife, freeing Tina’s mouth and then, holding it to Tina’s throat where she felt the cold blade of it, sending shivers down her spine as she looked towards Newt scared.

Newt just stared for a second and kept his eyes on the bandits. He knew that one wrong move, would mean losing Tina forever, and that was the last thing that he wanted. His heart thudded against his chest, as he met Tina’s eyes.

“It would be a shame for me to hurt such a pretty neck like this,” the bandit spoke and looked towards Tina again, the knife still by her throat. It seemed that he had no knowledge or her being royalty, and there was nothing to give her away either.

Newt gulped and just glanced towards Dougal for a second, who was still close by and ready to be there if Newt needed him. The horse looked towards Newt and moved his head slightly as if he was nodding.

Newt dived towards his horse, pulling a sword from the halter that was attached to the saddle. He pointed it towards the bandit holding Tina, face full of a mixture of fear and determination.

The bandit just laughed at him and tossed Tina aside like a ragdoll as he stepped towards Newt and raised an eyebrow slightly, pulling his own sword from his belt.

“You don’t look like you could fight a mouse. Put the sword down before you get yourself killed boy!” the bandit spoke and raised his sword, giving Newt one chance to put the sword away and give up.

Newt didn’t back down though and initiated the fight.

The two swords clashed against each other, metals scraping and making a horrible sound, that normally Tina would have cringed at, but she was too scared and too frozen where she had fallen to even remember to cringe.

She watched in complete fear, as Newt engaged in a sword fight and didn’t give up once. She had no idea how long she had been watching until, Newt had gotten the bandit to the floor, pointing the sword towards his throat.

“Let me and my friend go, and no harm will come to you,” Newt spoke and kept the sword pointed right towards the bandit.

“Alright. Go back from where you came from! But, don’t you come into these forests again. Neither of you! This is our territory, and next time we’ll kill her!” The bandit answered, and as Newt lowered the sword he, clambered to his feet and backed away.

The bandits all slipped off into the forest, and between the trees as Newt came over to Tina, and held out a hand for her, as she just stared up at him.

She took his hand and he slowly pulled her up, dropping the sword and hugging her out of relief of her being okay. He knew that he wasn’t going to let her come into the forest again, not with those bandits out there.

“Let’s get back to the palace,” he suggested, and just earned a nod from Tina in response.

They both mounted their horses again, and started heading back towards the palace, walking in silence until they were out of the forest, and Tina turned to look towards Newt.

“I didn’t know that you were so good with a sword,” she spoke softly and kept her eyes fixed on him, as he just shrugged slightly with a slight cough.

“Ever since Theseus started working in the royal guard, he’s come down to teach me a bit of sword fighting sometimes. That’s how I know how it all works, but I honestly didn’t think that I’d come out of that fight on top,” he told her and looked back towards Tina.

“We shouldn’t tell my parents about this,” she muttered to herself and just looked down slightly. “They’ll be too overprotective and then I won’t be allowed out again. If we just go out by the lake, then we’ll be fine.”

“If you don’t want me to tell them I won’t,” he assured her, and they headed back into the palace grounds, and into the stables.

Tina hopped off of Henley, as Newt got off of Dougal and put both horses away before looking towards Tina again and offered her a small smile.

The Princess stepped forward and looked up towards him with a smile on her face.

“Thank you. For saving me Newt. That was really brave, especially when you didn’t know if you’d even survive,” she kissed his cheek gently and stepped back a few steps before she heard the chime of the clock in the town.

“That’ll be dinner,” she spoke and gave Newt a little smile before disappearing out of the stables and running straight up back to the palace. The image of Newt was still in her mind, and she just smiled to herself slightly as she thought of the cheek kiss that she had given him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay wow. I actually wanted loads more to happen in this chapter but, I'm trying to keep the chapters around the same length. So, all the other things that I had planned will most likely be in the next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina's parents have some big news to share with her, and Tina goes to visit Newt in the stables

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what I wanted to add in the last chapter, but it would have been too long. So here it is in this chapter instead

Nobody found out about the bandits who had ambushed Newt and Tina in the forest, and ever since it had happened, they didn’t venture into the forest. They only went to the lake, which was nice enough but they, couldn’t go into the lake at all. If Tina’s parents had seen she had gone into a lake in her dresses, or that she had gotten undressed in front of staff, they would surely fire Newt and send him back into the village.

Tina was peacefully snoozing away in her bed, when her handmaiden came into the room and pulled back the duvet cover and then the curtains as well, letting the sun beam into the room and make Tina quite disgruntled.

“It’s a weekend. I’m allowed to sleep in on the weekend, I have no duties to attend to today,” Tina groaned and buried her face in her pillow.

“Your parents wish to see you down in the throne room My Lady,” her handmaiden answered and started getting a dress and corset ready for Tina to wear for the day.

Her parents hardly ever wanted to see her. They never discussed many matters with Tina, she would be informed if there was a royal ball, or if they had a visit to attend, but they hadn’t mentioned anything in passing. She had no clue what they even wanted. Unless. They could have found out about the bandits, but Tina hadn’t said anything to anyone, and she had enough trust in Newt that he wouldn’t have said anything either. She bit her lip slightly and sat up slowly in her bed.

“Have my parents said what they wanted to talk to me about?” Tina asked and looked to her handmaiden, doing her best to not look so panicked. The last thing that she needed was for people to fuss over her.

“They’ve not said anything to me in regard to what it’s about, they only sent me to wake you up and take you to the throne room,” she answered Tina and looked towards the young Princess with some concern. “Is everything alright Ma’am?”

“Yes. Just still tired,” Tina answered and dragged herself out of bed, and towards her changing screen where her handmaiden helped her put on the dress, and then made a start on her hair, so that Tina would look presentable. Tina though, wasn’t overly amused at everything. She knew that she had a reputation to uphold, but sometimes it felt as though she was just hiding behind a mask. She loved her family, and she loved the palace but, she didn’t like to be higher up than people that she considered friends.

Nonetheless, she followed her handmaiden out of her bedroom and towards the throne room where her mother and father awaited her.

Her heart thumped against her chest, and she felt dread with every step that she took. They knew about the bandits. She was never going to be allowed to go out riding again. She didn’t want to be trapped up inside all the time. No. She had to have her freedom. She had to be able to see Newt whenever she wanted.

When they stood at the huge oak door, Tina took a deep breath and gave a knock before walking into the room, and looked towards her parents, who sat in their respective thrones, Queenie already in the room, and standing in front of them.

If this involved Queenie too, then perhaps it wasn’t about the bandits. Unless Queenie got hurt somewhere, but Tina couldn’t see any distinct marks or anything that would prove that her younger sister had been hurt or anything similar.

“Mother, Father,” Tina spoke in greeting when she came to stand beside her sister and looked up towards her parents, still quite scared of what they were going to say to her and Queenie. She didn’t want to hear any bad news after all.

“Girls, we’re glad that you could make it. As you’ve been told, we have something that we wish to tell the both of you,” the Queen spoke and just let her eyes settle on her two daughters.

Tina tried to search her face, looking for any signs that gave away what her mother was going to speak about but, saw nothing so she remained silent and just moved her gaze towards her father, expecting them to continue before herself or Queenie could say anything.

“Girls, very soon there is going to be some visitors in the palace,” the King continued and moved his gaze towards his daughters as well. “Another royal family, from the next Kingdom. They wish to make an alliance with our Kingdom, so that the people may benefit from it all,” he told them both and looked to his wife to continue.

Tina just kept her gaze hopping from one parent to the other, visitors were no surprise but, she wasn’t entirely sure if she trusted this all so much yet. She needed to know more, so she just looked towards her mother expectantly. Even if what they were saying sounded like something that they had scripted and rehearsed for the last couple of days to get it all perfect.

“The visiting Kingdom has a son. A young Prince, who is a couple of years older than you are Tina,” the Queen informed and turned her gaze towards her oldest daughter. “When they arrive, we are hosting a ball and a dinner for the family and they’ll be staying with us for a few weeks. For the alliance to happen though, Tina you are going to have to be spending some time with the Prince.”

“You want me to marry him, don’t you?” Tina answered and looked towards her parents, quite glumly. For years there had been no talk of her marrying anyone, her parents had never promised her to any kind of man. Now, they were saying that she had to marry him so that the Kingdoms could come together.

“It’s the only way Tina. Queenie is far too young for marriage,” her father answered and sighed slightly. He didn’t like this any more than Tina did. She was still his daughter, and he still loved her. He wanted for her to be happy but, he knew that in a royal family that was less likely to happen.

“What if I say no?” Tina looked up towards her parents and tried to put on a brave face, when inside she was screaming and kicking to be free what that kind of situation. Her heart was begging her to run away, and never look back but, she knew that she had to stay. If not for herself, then for Queenie. She could never leave her little sister behind.

“I’m afraid that you don’t have much of a choice Tina. I know that it all sounds horrible but, please you have to do this for us. Or at least for the people in the village, they need this too,” her mother answered and looked towards her daughter with some hope in her eyes.

“I’m not saying that I like it but, I’ll do it if it’s what needs to be done,” Tina spoke and let her gaze fall slightly.

“Thank you, Tina. Both of you may go now,” the King told them and offered a smile towards the princesses.

“If this was just about Tina, then why did I have to be here?” Queenie asked them and let her head tilt to the side slightly.

“You’re to be informed of all visitors, and it was easier if we got you in here together, so we could tell you about the visitors and tell Tina what’s going to happen,” their mother answered.

Queenie just nodded in response, and turned to walk out of the room, Tina at her side the entire time. They were still inseparable not matter what, and Tina loved to just be with her sister if she wasn’t with Newt.

Once the doors closed behind them, Queenie turned to her older sister in some concern and just studied her face for a couple of seconds.

“Are you really okay with this Teen? Marrying someone that you’ve never met? Even if he is a nice guy, you might not fall in love with him,” Queenie asked out of concern.

“I’ll be fine Queenie. Don’t worry about me and, I would rather put myself forward for this than have you go through it,” Tina answered with a little smile on her face, that was so faint if you blinked then you would miss it.

“What about Newt though?”

“Me and Newt are friends,” Tina answered and bit her lip while looking towards the floor. “Even if we were more than that, then it’s against the rules to marry him. He’s not a Nobleman or Royalty. To most people he’s just a stable boy,” she added.

“But to you, he’s more than that,” Queenie interjected and watched her older sister closely.

“Like I said. He’s a friend, and I’m gonna go and see him later,” Tina gave her sister a quick hug before walking down the corridor towards the library. She wanted to get in some reading for the day. She could go and see Newt in the evening.

 

When evening fell, and Tina had eaten her dinner, she made her way down to the stables quickly and pushed open the door, only to be met with only horses. She frowned slightly and looked around, thinking that maybe he was in with one of the horses.

“Newt?” she called out but, received no answer. Which was odd. He was always in with the horses, and she knew that he would have already been given his dinner. He had been up this early before so, where was he?

She walked over to Henley and stroked her nose gently with a tiny smile on her face.

“Where’s Newt huh? Where is he?” she asked the mare, as if she was going to answer. With one last pat, Tina stepped out of the stables and directed her gaze towards the small hut beside it. She had never been in before but, it was worth a shot if Newt was in there.

She went over to the door and knocked gently, waiting to see if she got an answer. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait long because the door opened, and Newt was in the doorway. Although he looked different.

He was paler than normal, and he looked exhausted as he gave a tiny wave towards Tina and tried to smile.

“Hi. Um, come on in,” he offered and stood back so that the Princess could walk into what must be his home. There wasn’t a whole lot in there, a bed, a desk filled with papers and some books, and a trunk that she assumed had his clothes. It suited him nicely though.

“Newt are you feeling okay?” she asked him and watched him sit on the bed, with his head in his hands. He really did look dreadful, and she couldn’t help but, feel bad for him.

“I think I have a fever, and it’s probably contagious so uh, you shouldn’t get too close,” he answered and went to lie on the bed, coughing ever so slightly.

“I’ll be fine,” Tina assured and looked towards the desk where someone had put a basin of water and cloth. Presumably Newt’s brother. She took the cloth, dipped in the water and then rung it out before coming towards her friend.

She smoothed the cool cloth over his forehead gently.

“You need someone to look after you in this state,” she told him with a slight little giggle in her voice. She had never seen Newt like this before. “You shouldn’t be on your own.”

Newt had to smile at the cloth on his head, and closed his eyes slightly just taking it all in. He was glad that Tina was there but, he didn’t want her to get sick as well.

“If you get sick though-,” he started but, was interrupted by a brief coughing fit before settling back down again. “You aren’t even supposed to be in here. It’s against the rules.”

“If I get sick then they’ll call a doctor in straight away and I’ll be completely fine in two days,” she reminded him and gave a one shoulder shrug. “You just need some care from someone who cares about you because I doubt that someone is going to bring in a doctor.” She shook her head and let the cloth lay on his forehead. “And when have you known me to follow rules?” she grinned at him slightly.

“It isn’t proper for a lady to be in a man’s house at this hour,” Newt teased and just faintly smiled at her with a little chuckle. “No, you always have broken the rules.”

“I know the rules before I break them though,” she grinned and looked around trying to spot any kind of drinking water. “Do you have any water in here? That you can drink,” she asked him softly and kept her eyes looking around the room.

“My flask is behind you on the desk,” Newt pointed out. “Are you thirsty? I can go out and get some more water from the pump behind the stables if you need me to,” he suggested.

“It’s for you,” she told him and took the flask, tipping it slightly when it reached his lips so that he could have a little water. “I only came to talk to you because I was kinda worried about something and I didn’t know who else to turn to.”

“What is it?” Newt looked to her when he was finished with the water.

“My parents want me to marry this Prince who I’ve never met. We’re supposed to be meeting him soon, and then there’s going to be a ball and all of that. I never even liked any of the balls that we’ve hosted before,” she shook her head a little and sighed.

“You can’t get married to someone that you’ve never met,” Newt frowned and watched her for a few seconds. “I always think those balls sound fun. I’ve never been to one myself but, I can always hear the music down here,” he told her.

“I would probably actually have a lot more fun if you came to one of the balls,” Tina pointed out to him with a little smile on her face. “I would have someone that I could talk to then,” she added and watched him.

“You’re too kind to me sometimes. Thank you for being here to look after me, I should really walk you up to the palace though. You shouldn’t be walking out in the dark by yourself when you don’t have a guard,” Newt told her softly.

“I’ll be okay. It’s a short walk and there’s nothing out there that can hurt me,” Tina assured him and rolled her eyes a little.

“You’re gonna get me in a lot of trouble one day,” he smiled and just hummed, getting a bit drowsier.

“Nobody will ever know that you did anything,” Tina giggled slightly and watched him for a couple of seconds before the door opened and Theseus came in with a bowl of soup.

“Oh. Your Highness, I didn’t expect you to be in here,” Theseus spoke and went to bow before Tina waved it off.

“I came to see Newt. Now that you’re here though Theseus, I should be getting back to the palace. I hope that you get better soon Newt,” she looked towards the younger Scamander again and smiled at him before walking out of the little hut, and heading back up towards the palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaaay! I know that Newt and Tina are kind of slow burn in this but, honestly I love the whole slow burn thing! Thank you to everyone who is reading, and as always please leave any comments and kudos


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina meets the prince that she is supposed to be marrying, and doesn't like him very much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uni has been hella stressful and I've also been away, so only getting to this chapter now- I still have some plans for the next chapter though

The day finally came when the prince that Tina was supposed to be meeting arrived at the palace. The four royals, all sat in the throne room ready to be able to greet him. Tina wasn’t looking forward to any of it, she mostly wanted to stay to the sides and not have to bother with meeting him at all. She knew that she would never wish this upon Queenie though, so she dared not suggest that the two marry instead of her.

The doors opened, and a tall, dark haired man walked in. He must have been a couple of years older than Tina, and she glanced towards her parents quickly just to see their reactions. She had no idea if they had met him before, or if they had only met his parents. Still, they must have known that he was older. Which wasn’t unsurprising. She had just hoped that maybe he could have been the same age.

The prince stopped when he was close enough to the royals and gave a bow before smiling up at them.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you your majesties. I am Prince Percival Graves, and I have come to be able to meet Princess Porpentina. May I be so bold as to ask which of you lovely ladies are the Princess?” his eyes flicked between Queenie and Tina.

“That’s me,” Tina answered and stood. She may not like the idea of marrying a man that she barely knew, but she wasn’t going to be impolite to him. She took a few tentative steps towards him, and curtsied.

Percival smiled and took her hand, placing a kiss to the back of it as he looked straight to Tina. At least he did focus his attention on her, that was something that Tina had to admit was a good thing. She was half expecting him to pay more attention to her sister. Even though she was far too young to even think about a relationship.

“It is an honour to meet you My Lady. Your parents have kindly permitted for me to court you, starting tomorrow. Unless, you would like to take a walk around the gardens with me now?” he asked and, looked quickly to the King and Queen to make sure that was permitted, earning a nod from them in return.

Tina knew that her parents expected her to make an effort with the Prince, so she bit back her refusal and just nodded as well. She forced a smile onto her face and, tried to make her sigh sound at least a fraction natural.

“That would be lovely. Perhaps I can show you the palace grounds. I know them better than anyone else,” she suggested. Which really meant, that she hoped maybe she would get to see Newt while around. She hadn’t seen him since he was sick. She didn’t want her parents getting suspicious if she came down with an illness out of the blue.

Percival nodded and offered his arm, which Tina took and they both turned and walked out of the throne room and into the gardens. At least out here, Tina could be a little looser and she didn’t have to make too much of an effort with her parents not around.

“I don’t know how much that you care about being respectful or anything, but really you can just call me Tina,” she told him and gave a one shouldered shrug. She did hate being called Porpentina and, did prefer just having Tina as her name. Newt had told her once that Porpentina meant porcupine, and she had hated it ever since. He still sometimes teased her about it, never in a mean way. Just enough to make her slap his arm.

“Tina,” Percival nodded in agreement and offered her a smile. “Whatever makes the Lady happy.”

 _You not being here would make the Lady happy and yet…_ Tina thought to herself but, never voiced it out loud. She kept her eyes out for Newt anywhere in the grounds but, figured that he must be down in the stables with the horses. That just made her long for the chance to ride Henley and be away from everything. She had no idea if she was even going to be able to do that as much now, not with Prince Percival here.

“I trust that you had a pleasant journey?” Tina asked and looked towards him. “Did you come by coach or horseback?”

“Coach. I had to bring some things, as your parents have invited me to stay. Rather than go back and forward every day,” he confirmed, and Tina just nodded. That was what she was afraid of. The prince having to stay at her palace and, be around twenty-four hours of the day.

“Well, I’m sure that the horses or horse that was pulling your coach will be well looked after. Our stable boy is quite the natural when it comes to animals,” she spoke fondly, a smile on her face as she thought of Newt.

“You like the horses? Perhaps one day soon we can go riding together? I passed through some woodland on my way here, it looks like the perfect place to go riding,” Percival suggested and watched Tina for her reaction.

As soon as he mentioned the woodland, she tensed a little. Her mind went back to the bandits and Newt almost being killed by some of them. The last thing that she wanted was to go back in there and run into those men again.

“Not the forest. My horse spooks in there, she wont like it. My parents have told me not to go into them either,” she pointed out and hoped that he wouldn’t question her further about why they wouldn’t let her into the forest.

“Could you not take a different horse? One that doesn’t spook perhaps?”

“No. I’ve been trained to ride my horse, and I don’t like taking another one. Henley is perfect for me, and she would get upset if I chose not to ride her for a day. I trust her with my life,” Tina answered and, tried to refrain from glaring at the prince.

“Somewhere else then. Somewhere that you can take your preferred horse,” Percival answered and looked a little sheepishly to Tina. At least, she had some authority when it came to make the decisions.

“That would be just fine. I’ll have to let you know where I like to go. Some places, I would rather keep to myself though,” she answered and thought of the bank near the river. The place that Newt took her to. No. She had to get Newt out of her head. He was her best friend. Nothing more.

They walked through the gardens, and Tina kept an eye out for Newt but never saw him anywhere. She answered the questions that Percival gave her, mostly leaving them quite short. She didn’t want him knowing anything too personal. It was her life and she wasn’t about to just delve into her entire life story to someone that she had just met.

“I heard that your parents are holding a ball in a weeks’ time. Is that correct?” Percival asked and looked to Tina.

“They are. Will you still be with us?” she asked, hoping that he was going to say no. That way, she wouldn’t have to feel obligated to dance with him. She wasn’t looking forward to even speaking to him more, let alone having to dance.

“I don’t know as of yet. I am hoping that I can attend. I’ve not been to a ball in quite some time,” he told her.

Tina was inwardly relieved, though she still had the niggling feeling in the back of her mind that he was going to end up arriving anyway, and that she would be forced to dance with him, seeing as they were supposed to be getting married.

“I believe that this is all that we have the time for. Your parents have told me that I may only be alone with you, an hour at a time,” Percival turned to face her and took her hand. “I hope to see you again tomorrow My Lady,” he placed a kiss to the back of her hand and, bowed before leaving to walk back up towards the palace.

Tina watched him go and once he was out of sight, breathed out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t looking forward to seeing him again, but she had to be glad that she could have the rest of the day completely to herself.

 

She made her way down the familiar path towards the stables and pushed open the door. She knew that Newt was in there, but she hadn’t expected to see Theseus in there as well.

Both men turned when they heard the doors opening and offered Tina a smile. She knew them both well enough now, that she had told them both that they didn’t need to bow whenever she entered a room by herself.

“Tina,” Newt smiled at her, his whole face lighting up. Even she had to admit that he was pretty cute when he smiled.

“I came for some company, that isn’t going to talk like they have a stick up their ass,” Tina told both of them, and immediately gravitated towards Henley, stroking the mare’s nose.

“Ah. You’ve spent time with your prince then?” Newt raised an eyebrow slightly. “His horses are friendly. I can tell that they get taken care of.”

“Trust my brother to only focus on the horses,” Theseus chuckled and looked towards the Princess. “I didn’t get to meet this Prince but, Newt told me that you’ve been told that you have to marry someone you’ve been told that you have to marry someone.”

“Yeah. Prince Percival Graves,” Tina rolled her eyes slightly and focused her attention on the two brothers. “He’s nice enough but, I still don’t want to marry the guy. We hardly know each other, and I’m not about to get all deep and personal about my life.”

“I see. Good luck with that, I can’t really see a way around it,” Theseus answered her and leaned against one of the posts.

“Did you want to take Henley out?” Newt tilted his head to the side slightly and let his gaze fix on Tina, not even paying much attention to the horses.

“I have no time today. There was meeting this Prince, and then food is going to served any minute now, and then I have to attend ballroom dancing lessons, because they probably think I’ve forgotten how to dance, seeing as I never do dance at the balls,” she sighed and looked at Henley for a second before, turning her gaze back towards Newt.

“That’s a shame. I hope to see you soon for another day of just horse riding though. Henley will start to miss you if you’re not around as much,” he offered a small smile and gave a little shrug. He wanted Tina to be happy. He also wanted to see her more but, he wasn’t going to admit that. Especially not in front of his brother.

“I’ll be back down in a few days. I wouldn’t give this up ever. I love Henley, and I love being able to explore. It’s one of my favourite things to do around here, and nobody ever worries about me,” she smiled softly.

“I’ll make sure to tell Henley that you still love her, and that you aren’t going to abandon her. How long is the Prince fellow staying at the palace?” Newt asked.

“I’m not sure. He says he won’t be staying here when it’s the night of the ball, so hopefully he won’t be here for very long. No doubt that he’ll probably be back though,” she sighed to herself.  “I really don’t want to have to dance with him.”

Newt opened his mouth to speak again but, was cut off by the bell announcing a meal time. Tina said a quick goodbye, and slipped out, heading back up to the palace and hoping that she wouldn’t have to be sat near Percival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for being patient if you've been waiting for this update, if you've just read all the chapters through then wow. Thanks to you as well. Please, please, please leave any comments that you can. I like Kudos but, comments always put a smile on my face.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ball is held but, not everything goes according to plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't posted this in a while but, that is because Uni has been crazy with work. But, I have finished all of my deadlines no, so yay!

Tina spent some more time with Percival but, as the time went on she had disliked him more and more. He had been a bit rude towards some of the staff and, she especially wanted to keep him away from Newt. Which meant that she never suggested for them to go on a horse ride, and always made an excuse. Horse riding was the thing that her and Newt had done together, and she didn’t want anything to change that.

He had been nice to her but, she still wouldn’t really give him much to go on and when he tried to get her to either give any affections towards her, she always denied them. She didn’t want to be affectionate with someone who she didn’t love. It was still an issue that she wanted to talk to her parents about but, knew that they would only tell her that this is all what’s best for her, and that she had to marry Percival so that she could do something for the kingdom and unite them or whatever it was that her parents had told her. Not that she wanted to really do anything like that. She had always thought that when she became the Queen then she could make her own laws. She wouldn’t have to marry someone like Percival. She didn’t want to argue with her parents though.

Tina had gone down to visit Newt a couple of times, when she could get away from Percival and spent a lot of time just talking to him and helping him brush the horses. She mostly stuck to Henley, but she was glad to just be there for Newt and she was glad that he never saw her any different from when she wasn’t engaged. It was nice, and it was familiar. Something that Tina liked a lot, and something that she wanted to keep. Even if she did end up married to Percival, she didn’t want to just be stuck with royal duties. She wanted to do something and make a change, she wanted to still be able to see her friend. Percival may have been her fiancé but, she wasn’t going to let that stop her from her own free will.

 

The night of the ball came quickly, and Tina wasn’t looking forward to it that much. She had gotten dressed into one her more fancy dresses, and Queenie had informed her that it would be a masked ball rather than a normal one. Which Tina wasn’t too fond of either.

She sighed as she walked into the hall, being one of the first people in there, along with her sister and her parents.

“Come on Teen, lighten up a little. You might actually enjoy this if you gave it a chance,” Queenie told her sister with a smile on her face as she nudged her gently.

“I never liked balls. They aren’t my thing,” Tina answered and looked to her sister’s masked face. She rolled her eyes slightly and just huffed, as she looked away from her family and just towards the doors as people piled in.

Tina mostly stuck around by the side, she didn’t even look out for Percival. She wasn’t much in the mood to speak to him, let alone have to dance with him. That was the last thing that she wanted to do.

She did catch a glimpse of red hair at one point though and frowned slightly. She didn’t know any family friends that would have been invited that had red hair, and she was curious as to if she had even seen it right.

She went back to try and get a drink when she caught a glimpse again, and the red hair was now next to her. She blinked once and looked up, seeing that it was Newt but, masked. She couldn’t help but, smile when she saw him there and had suspicions, not quite knowing the real reason why he was there in the first place.

“May I have this dance Ma’am?” Newt asked teasingly but, offered his arm to her on the chance that she may just accept.

“You may,” she smiled at him and took his arm, letting him lead her onto the dance floor, one hand on her waist and the other holding hers.

“How come you’re here? I thought that they didn’t allow the staff to places like these?” Tina frowned and looked towards him in some wonder.

“Queenie helped get me in. Nobody knows that it’s me apart from you two,” he told her with a smile as he just looked to her for a moment.  It was risky, but it was worth it. It was all worth it just to hold her and be close to her, in a way that they would never be allowed to do if they were recognised. Tina knew that too, so she just savoured the moment, and stayed with him.

“I’ll remember to thank her later, after the ball,” Tina nodded with a little smile on her face. “People are going to wonder who it is that got me dancing. Everyone knows that I don’t dance at balls,” she told Newt.

“And your Prince is nowhere to be seen? I was afraid that he might have been around and that you would have been made to dance with him.”

“If he was around I wouldn’t be dancing with him, I would be avoiding him at all costs. I normally hate dancing but, for you I don’t mind. You’ve never been to a ball after all, so I feel that it’s only right that I dance with you,” she told him with a little giggle as he twirled her under his arm and just grinned.

“Surprised that I can dance so well?” he looked at her curiously.

“I am. Where did you learn?” she asked him softly.

“I learned from my mother. She thought that I should know,” he answered with a little shrug.

“She taught you well. I’m quite impressed Newt,” Tina grinned at him, and they both stopped as the music came to a close, faces inches from each other as they just looked into each other’s eyes for a moment.

They were quickly broken out of their trance however when a bell was sounded, and the King stood from his seat to make an announcement.

“Ladies and Gentlemen. I would like to thank you all for coming to the ball this fine evening. It is with great pleasure that I announce our own Princess Porpentina, will be married soon. However, her betrothed could not be with us today, as he is dealing with matters in his own Kingdom,” the King spoke. He opened his mouth to speak again but, was stopped by a loud banging and shouts coming from elsewhere in the castle.

Tina looked towards Newt, scared and then towards the sound of the noise. It got closer, until the doors to the ball room were shaking with a banging.

“Newt…” Tina started to speak but, the door was thrown open and a hoard of men in hoods and cloaks walked into the room. Some had swords, others had guns, and some had burning torches.

“I think those are the bandits that attacked us in the woods,” Tina whispered and clung onto Newt, who stood in front of her. He wasn’t going to let her get hurt. Not if her could help it anyway. The last thing that he wanted was to see Tina injured, or worse be killed.

“When they’re distracted, I’ll get you out of here,” Newt told her in a hushed voice as the bandits stepped closer.

The King stood his ground and just glared towards the bandits, fixing them with an icy cold stare.

“I must ask you men to leave. This is a private ball,” he spoke firmly and looked straight towards one of the bandits.

“Afraid that we can’t do that,” the bandit in front spoke, and raised his gun straight towards the King. He didn’t hesitate with pulling the trigger, and a scream from the Queen sounded straight after, as she watched her husband fall to the floor, blood staining his dress clothes.

Everything happened in a blur after that. Bandits fought with the Kings men, there was fire, gunshots and the sound of swords crashing together.

Newt took hold of Tina’s hand firmly and pulled her away from the carnage, taking her towards the back of the room that was well hidden. He pulled her behind a curtain and towards a door that Tina had never seen before. It was always hidden by the curtain.

Newt took her through, and through some tunnels before they got far enough that they couldn’t hear screams anymore.

“Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?” Newt turned to her and took her face in his arms as he looked to her.

“They… they killed my father. Newt…” Tina looked to him, tears in her eyes as she bit her lip slightly and just sniffled. “We have to keep going. We have to get out of the palace grounds, go into the village,” she suggested.

“Tina…”

“Now Newt! That’s an order,” she snapped and looked towards him, forcing herself not to cry.

“We can’t take a horse. It’s too suspicious. This tunnel leads right out into the woods. It’s well hidden, nobody knows about it,” he told her.  

Tina nodded in agreement, and let Newt take her hand and lead her through the tunnel.

Neither of them spoke. Not about the deaths, not about the bandits and not about the moment that they had shared while dancing. Everything was too much, and all that they wanted to focus on was getting out and getting into the village where they could be relatively safe.

Newt got her out of the woods, and into the village.

It was there that Tina stopped to just stare up at the palace, now ablaze and looking like something out of a nightmare. As much as she hated the rules, and the lifestyle, it was her home. Her family. Now, everything was lost.

Newt stood with her for a few seconds, holding her hand and not speaking. He didn’t want to ruin any kind of moment that she might be having, didn’t want to break her out of any thoughts. She seemed so strong, but he could tell that she was upset, that she was shaken.

“Newt? Is that you?” a familiar voice sounded, and the pair turned to see Newt’s mother running towards them and enveloping her son into a hug. “I saw the flames at the palace, I was so worried about you and your brother,” she spoke and just held onto Newt, as Tina stayed quiet.

“I’m okay mum. And Theseus will be too, he’s a fighter. He’ll come back home,” Newt assured his mother and hugged her back.

“And Tina. I’m glad that you got out but, what about the rest of your family?” Julie turned her attention from Newt to the Princess that she once took care of. The girl that had been once so innocent, and carefree.

“I don’t know…” Tina admitted and hugged the woman, who had been like a second mother to her through childhood. “They shot my father, but I didn’t see what happened to my mother. Or Queenie,” she squeezed her eyes shut, and held back the tears.

“I’m so sorry dear,” Julie rubbed the girl’s back and stood back to get a look at her again. “Come on, you can stay with me and Newt. It may not be what you’re used to but, you need somewhere to rest your head.”

“Thank you,” Tina nodded and sniffled slightly as she looked towards Newt. She was glad that she was around people who were familiar. Even if she had just lost everything. She followed Newt and his mother back to their little house.

It was small but, Tina wasn’t about to complain. She appreciated everything that Newt’s family had done for her over the years. The times where Julie was her nanny, Newt being her friend, and then her riding companion.

She sat in one of the chairs, as Julie pottered around and made some tea for both Newt and Tina. The Princess just stared forward, silent and still forcing herself not to cry. She knew that there would be time to mourn later. When she was alone. Crying in front of Newt just seemed stupid.

It was a couple of hours before the door opened, and a slightly battered and bruised, with charred hair, Theseus walked through and immediately went to his mother, giving her a hug before coming to sit.

“Tina?” he looked towards the Princess in surprise. “Nobody saw you leave, everyone has presumed that you were dead,” he spoke. “It’s good that you’re not though. With you being alive, people may stand a chance of having the monarchy restored.”

“Theseus. Not now,” Newt answered his brother and glared right at him. “She doesn’t need this shit. Let her grieve and let her mourn.”

“I apologise my Lady,” Theseus bowed his head slightly.

“It’s fine,” Tina spoke in an almost whisper as she just reached out and took Newt’s hand. “My home is gone. How am I supposed to rule somewhere that’s gone?” she looked to the older Scamander brother.

“You’ll have people to help you,” Theseus suggested.

“I don’t want to think about it. I’m going to get some sleep,” Tina told them both, and stood up. Newt stood as well, and showed her to his bedroom, offering his bed so that she would have somewhere warm to sleep.

“Thank you for saving me Newt,” she whispered and looked towards him as they stood either side of the threshold.

“I wasn’t going to let anyone hurt you,” he told her and looked down into her eyes. His hand reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and lingered for a moment.

Tina stood closer to him, and felt her breath hitch it her throat as she kept her eyes on him.

“Goodnight Newt,” she spoke and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek gently. She lingered for a second though and when she pulled back, their eyes met.

Before she knew it, Newt had cupped her face in his hands and kissed her fully on the lips, a kiss that she returned before they both tumbled into Newt’s room lost in their embrace, door closing behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's what everyone was waiting for right? RIGHT? Hope you liked the angst


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt takes Tina out into the village to show her village life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh its been a while since I updated this. This chapter is not as long as others have been but, I'm hoping that you will all enjoy anyway

When Tina woke up, she forgot for a moment what had happened. Waking up in an unfamiliar bed confused her, and she sat up suddenly, before looking down and seeing Newt there next to her. She let out a sigh of relief before settling back down next to him again.

She stayed there for a little while, until Newt woke and blinked a couple of times. He turned his head to look towards her and gave a little smile. He would have never expected to wake up in a bed next to Tina, given their social statuses. There they were though.

“I didn’t overstep any boundaries last night, did I?” he asked her softly.

“No. You didn’t. I quite enjoyed last night,” she assured him and moved closer to him, placing a kiss to his cheek gently.

Even with everything that had happened, and even if she was upset about what had happened in the castle, she did like that she had finally been able to confess it all to Newt. In a weird way. She hadn’t really told him that she loved him but, she was sure that he had figured it all out.

“Despite what happened at the castle, I am glad that we did this. I wanted to do this for so long, but I knew that we couldn’t. Because of me being royal and you being… well… you being not royal,” she nodded.

“Tina. You don’t have to explain yourself,” he assured her and moved to caress her cheek gently with a hum. “Come on, we’ll have some breakfast,” he told her and brought her down into the kitchen again.

Breakfast wasn’t overly fancy either but, Tina didn’t mind all that much. She liked the change, minus the part where her family were likely dead. She hadn’t heard any news about Queenie but, she was desperate to hear what had happened to her sister and hoped with everything that Queenie was still alive.

Julie came into the kitchen, with a beige dress over her arms as she looked towards Newt and Tina, who seemed content in just sitting with each other and eating their breakfast.

“Tina, I have a dress for you here that you can wear. I wouldn’t want you being in the same thing as yesterday. It’s nothing fancy but, I hope that it’s okay,” she spoke to the younger woman, and offered a kind smile.

“It’ll be fine, thank you Julie. And don’t worry about things not being fancy. I was never really into that sort of thing anyway,” she answered and stood up. She went over and took the dress, walking back up to the bedroom and putting it on.

 

Julie sat with Newt and reached out to put a hand on his shoulder gently. She offered him a warm smile and made sure to keep her eyes on him.

“Your brothers gone to see if there are still those bandits in the castle. We don’t know everything that happened, but he just wants to double check,” she told him softly.

“Those bandits… there was one that I think I’ve seen before,” Newt spoke and looked at his mother. “I don’t know how, I just think I’ve seen the face somewhere before…” he bit his lip slightly and sighed. “That sounds dumb. It’s probably the shock that got to me.”

“Shock is natural Newt. Perhaps you should take Tina out today? Out in the town and try and make sure that she’s okay,” she suggested to him with a little smile on her face.

“I think she’d like that,” Newt nodded in agreement.

“Like what?” Tina asked as she popped her head into the doorway, hair down and dress fitting perfectly.

“I’ll show you around the village,” Newt suggested with a little smile on his face as he watched her. Somehow, without all of her Princess attire she seemed more beautiful than normal. She looked natural and he wanted nothing more than to just take her all in.

“That sounds like fun,” she nodded and grinned at him.

Newt took her hand and led her out into the village. They passed by some little market stalls, Tina taking in everything and just being happy to be a part of the community and see what village life was like.

They were walking more towards the main square when a barking came, and a collie came running up to Newt, tail wagging.

“Hello Pickett,” Newt smiled and reached out to pet the collie behind his ears. “I’ve not seen you for a little while. Tina, this is Pickett,” he told Tina.

She just smiled and reached down to pet the dog as well, she couldn’t help but, find him completely adorable and she loved that he seemed very eager for attention. Every time either she or Newt stopped petting him, he would paw at them to get some pats.

 

They were soon brought out of their little bubble though, when they heard a bell ring and a man shouting out so that he could get the villages attention. Tina figured he must be who the village relied on for the news from the Kingdom. She grew curious herself and stood with Newt, looking up towards him.

“I bring news about the Kingdom,” the man spoke and just stood. “The King and Queen have been killed,” he announced and looked towards the crowd of people who had all begun muttering to one another. Tina felt a pang in her chest and felt Newt’s hand take hers gently.

“The Princesses are both missing, and the palace remains empty. The guards have taken King Phillip and Queen Joyce to the royal burial grounds, and a search will be given to find the missing Princesses,” he spoke.

Tina looked up towards Newt, tears stinging her eyes as she just held onto him. Newt wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back gently. The bandits seemed to be gone which was a relief, but she had no idea where they were.

He took her back to the cottage, where Theseus had returned, and he looked towards his brother and the Princess.

“Tina, I am so sorry for what happened. None of us wanted this to happen to your parents and I swear that we will do everything that we can to find your sister,” Theseus assured her and stepped towards her.

“I don’t want to go back until she’s found. We go back to the palace together,” Tina answered and sniffled slightly, still holding Newt’s hand.

“I understand, and we will find Queenie. For now, you can stay with us but, I think it’s best to keep a low profile. We don’t want the bandits getting word that you’re in the village,” he told her and offered a reassuring smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think in the comments and leave some kudos if you liked it. Comments really mean a lot to me because they help me improve my writing skills.


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